California is now allowing women to get birth control pills without a doctor's prescription

[Liberal_in_LA]

Officials announced Friday that women in California can now drop by their neighborhood pharmacy and pick up birth control pills without a prescription from a doctor. It's not technically over-the-counter, but you can get them by talking to a pharmacist and filling out a questionnaire.

The new option is intended to increase access to birth control and reduce unintended pregnancies. State legislators originally passed the law in 2013 but it was held up in regulatory discussions until Friday.


California becomes the third state after Oregon and Washington to allow women to obtain more types of birth control directly from a pharmacist.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-birth-control-law-20160408-story.html

[Gregorian]

1. Excellent.

Inch by inch, we're making slow progress.

[questionseverything]

2. the part that worrys me is

that woman will not keep up with their pap smears (since they have pill access w/o it)

or blood pressure checks which are dangerous for the over 35 crowd on the pill

[Mariana]

6. The pharmacists will warn women about those things, I hope.

I think this is the lesser evil. BP can be checked at many places for free, and if a woman can't afford to see a doctor to get a BC scrip, she's not going to be getting pap tests anyway.

[questionseverything]

8. when i was taking the pill i got that done at pp

so cost was not an option

i am all for easier access just worried about the unintended consequences , as you note education is the key

[Baobab]

13. This will help many people quite a bit. They could do this with more medications.

Certain kinds of conditions.

[greymouse]

24. blood pressure

My pharmacy has a free bp machine right by the pharmacy. I'm sure a trained pharmacist would suggest it be used.

The requirement for pap smears to get pills was way way overdone, and put in place to just add more aggravation and expense to getting access to the pill. Being checked every six months is just crazy for a young woman.

If I remember correctly (it's been a long time) the pill actually decreases the likelihood of the type of cancer a pap smear detects. Any responsible woman who can afford a pap smear or has access to planned parenthood will get them anyway.

[questionseverything]

27. pap smears are once a year

when i was getting close to 35 my doc @ pp told me because i smoked they would not prescribe the pill after 35, we planned for it and hubby got a vasectomy

if i hadn't had the doc between me and the pill i might of had a bad result..i would of not stopped taking it on my own....that is what made me think of it

for most woman i am sure it will not be a problem and hopefully education will take care of the rest

[greymouse]

30. decades ago

you had to trot into the doctor every six months for a pap smear in order to get the pill prescription.

[airplaneman]

7. After making twelve full inches you have made a foot of progress! n/t.

I applaud this decision.
-Airplane

[prayin4rain]

3. Awesome! n/t

[Lochloosa]

4. About time.

[Glassunion]

5. And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

[AllyCat]

9. Forward thinking populace that cares about women, families, and their economy.

[valerief]

10. Happy will be the day when men, too, can get their birth control pills. nt

[LiberalFighter]

11. Would this be covered under health insurance?

If so, good. Otherwise, how much will it cost them?

[greymouse]

25. planned paretnhood says $15 to $50 a month

or arrangements can be made at pp for less, assuming there is a pp clinic nearby;.

In general, OTC meds do not get insurance coverage. Not sure about this special case.

[SoapBox]

12. As they should be allowed to...

[rurallib]

14. big old kick and rec!

[yuiyoshida]

15. oh my!!

[JDPriestly]

16. Hurrah for California!

[Skittles]

17. that will send rightwing sactimonious assholes into a frenzy

HOW WILL THEY PUNISH WOMEN FOR HAVING SEX!!!

[steve2470]

19. yep, "thwarting God's will for procreation only"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. "HOW WILL THEY PUNISH WOMEN FOR HAVING SEX!!!"

Thinking of them should be enough.

That's like a guy thinking of baseball.

[Omaha Steve]

18. .

[PasadenaTrudy]

21. Love my state! nt

[Thespian2]

22. Number of states where leaders

actually care about people living in the state has now risen to three...

[niyad]

23. I wonder how many woman-hating, gestational slaver fundie heads will explode? (all of them,

one hopes!!)

imagine thinking that women are fully capable of making their own health care decisions!

geez, now those woman-hating gestational slavers will have to picket every pharmacy, every walgreen's, rite-aid, cvs, and supermarket pharmacy.

[greymouse]

26. someone correct me if this is wrong

I seem to recall that taking a high dose of birth control pills functions as a morning after pill, and would be invaluable in the case of rape, for example.

Sooner of later technology will enable an end run around the prolife(sic) crazies.

[scioto99]

28. As I remember, that's true.

But it's far from foolproof. A few points to keep in mind (tossing it out there in case anyone needs to know it; but please double-check my facts) -

-- It causes nausea (it's a double dose of OCP's, repeated twelve hours later) so many women will need a strong anti-nausea medicine to keep from puking it back up. And for that, you will need a prescription.

-- It decreases the chance of conception but doesn't reduce it to zero, and the longer you wait after unprotected sex the less efficacious it becomes. The estrogen content of your OCP will affect the efficacy as well.

-- If you've been raped or had sex under hazy circumstances, please see a doctor and/or the police. Post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV is also vital.

-- Don't for a moment think that a morning-after concoction is just as good as contraception. It's best thought of as a crappy substitute for the (hopefully never) time that you and your partner mess up. It's somewhat better than nothing and a lot worse than planning ahead.

[uppityperson]

38. Some women get nauseated but most I've talked to do not. It does not protect against stds

[REP]

32. Plan B is already available in California without a prescription

Plan B, the "morning after" pill (a high dose of oral contraceptives), has been OTC in California for a while now.

[roamer65]

36. Good job, CA.

[Warren DeMontague]

29. Good. It should be available OTC.

[Sweet Freedom]

31. About fucking time!

Yes!

[dembotoz]

33. not fond of idea for 2 reasons

1 i like the idea of planned parenthood and for the screenings they do in performance of distribution of birth control...over the counter would lower the level of health care provided to those who would opt for otc vs planned parenthood

2 in my day when birth control was more of a relevant thing, to me that is, the pill came in a variety of dosage and options....the doctor in theory would custom fit the right package for the woman...Am i to understand that now the pill is one size fits all????? Also i fear about the usage of alternatives that might be a better fit (iud or the patch or whatever is the new and better mousetrap) would be affected.

[greymouse]

34. except

All very well if a female has access to planned parenthood or the money for a prolonged doctor's visit. Many don't.

[hollowdweller]

37. A doctor I used to work with said we should do this with a lot of drugs.

Given the cost of seeing a doctor why make somebody go back over and over? Or go to a doctor just for some antibiotics?

[jonks2746]

39. Good on California

The other states should follow suit.

[hunter]

40. OH NO! Lock up your wives and daughters!

But seriously, I hope this reduces the level of misery in communities where people really do think like that.